Ashthorn

Ashthorn is a Treekin of the forest of Mirkwood where he serves the three Tree Kings in defending the Forest of Mirkwood, and by extension the Realm of High Forest.

Ashthorn, Oakshell, and Peachtwig were all created by the Treeking Coeddil following the initial assault of the Trollocs into High Forest, and while they were able to resist them the Myrddil got within the forest and fortified itself leading to a significant problem for the forest.

Contents

History

Early History

Ashthorn, Oakshell, and Peachtwig were all created by the Treeking Coeddil following the initial assault of the Trollocs into High Forest, and while they were able to resist them the Myrddil got within the forest and fortified itself leading to a significant problem for the forest.

Founding of High Forest

This is our new home. It looks as if we must fight for the right to stay here.

The usually wild bands of Trolloc of the mountains to the east of Mirkwood had become the playthings of several Myridrrim and this had led to their numbers and power increasing to near unstable levels.

“It had only been but a passing of several seasons but since the time I had been here the darkness had crept into Mirkwood. The taint of Chaos hung now like the depths of the great northern Wastes.”

— Vareesa Windrunner

When the Elves arrived in Mirkwood Forest they found it wasn't as uninhabited as it had been during the War of Vengeance and the scouting of Vareesa Windrunner. In the decades since her time there the forests now teemed with the darkness brought on by the coming of Trolloc to the forest, of which the Tree spirits that were once teeming in the forest had seemingly been unable to resist. These Trolloc were led by a powerful Myridrrim, and due to this they were growing quite powerful in the forest with their numbers reaching extreme levels in many parts of the Great Mirkwood Forest. The Sindar Elves divided themselves along the western portion of High Forest and at first Malfurion entered them into a battle of attrition while they attempted to find a way to understand why the Trollocs were so organized. The battle raged for years and the Elves founded themselves their first settlement in the settlement of Nonatar where the vast portion of the Sindar Elves came to live while they battled themselves against the Trolloc.

Awakening the Trees

“Learning the truth made everything clear, but at the same time this changes everything my love. The Myridrrim is a creature of pure Chaos.”

— Tyrande Whisperwood

While the Sindari Elves fought against the endless tide of Trolloc it was the spirits of Mirkwood that begin to notice the change in things, and despite the fact that the Sindari Elves were losing the war the spirits saw finally an ally willing to help them against the Myrdrril. The spirits of the forest led by their three spirit council in the form of Coeddil, Durthuu, and Adanhu would come to decide that they would stop fighting against the Trolloc alone and fight with the Sindari Elves in order to protect the forest itself. Thus it was during the stalemate between the Sindari Elves, and the Trolloc that the Sindar Elves were visited by Coeddil of whome was an ancient Ent or spirit of the forest. Coeddil told them of how at the center of the forest lay the grandfather tree which was a tree of unimaginable power if used in the wrong way. He told them that a Myridrrim had made its lair there and was calling thousands of Trollocs to the forest where they were defiling the beauty that was High Forest. Coeddil would also make it very clear that time was not on their side as the Treekings had already been forced out of the Grove of the Grandfather Tree and they knew that the Myridrrim had begun eating the tree itself and was becoming more powerful by the day.

“If you do not act this forest and everything in it will fall into darkness. That may matter little to the humans but in you I sense a caring for the trees that I have no senced for many years. Prove the rest of my people wrong and save this forest. Prove your people wrong and do the right thing for the right reasons. If you do this the forest will stand beside you.”

— Coeddil

Following this meeting the Sindar Elves undertook a massive invasion of the central section of High Forest where Malfurion led the forces of the Sindar Elves against the numerically superior Trolloc, but with the support of several Treekin in the form of Ashthorn, Oakshell, and Peachtwig they were able to put up a true battle. As the Treekin were commanded to support the Sindari Elves these Treekin would summon to them lesser treekin in the form of the Dryads, and lesser treekin of whom all added to the strength of the Sindari attack. The battles were fierce but eventually the Elves were within the lair of the Myridrrim and it was here that the forest would make itself known once again. As the Sindar Elves invaded the lair of the leader they heard a massive howl go throughout the forest and following this the owl scouts they were using gave dire warnings that unimagenable numbers of Trolloc were moving against the Sindar Elves. As the Sindar Elves were preparing to be overwhelmed Malfurion Stormrage battled alongside many of the leaders of the Sindari including his wife Tyrande Whisperwood against the Myridrrim who had become nearly a god by eating from the Grandfather Tree. As the battle raged and the Trolloc begin overwhelming the Sindari forces the forest turned on the Trollocs and came to the aid of the Sindar Elves.

Founding of Grandfather Tree

“My children today we fight for the survival of our way of life. If we allow these monsters of Chaos to overwhelm this place then we will allow another home of the gods themselves to be destroyed. Today we fight against Chaos, and today they discover the cost of madness and evil.”

— Malfurion Stormrage

With victory in sight Mirkwood Forest unleashed themselves on the unsuspecting Trollocs in numbers that were in the tens of thousands. The Treekin were joined by the Eagles, and Centaurs alongside all manner of creatures who all came out of hiding and poured against the Trollocs in a massacre that killed tens of thousands of Trolloc and left the forest utterly clear of Trolloc outside of the inner lair itself where the Sindari Elves and Treekin alliance was pushing inside of. Inside the Lair of the Mydrrill the forest sent three of its greatest in the form of Coeddil and two other Treekin in the form of Treebeard, and Quickbeam of whom took the fight over and destroyed the Myrdrril who found he couldn't damage the tree spirits because of how much of the Grandfather tree that he had ingested. With the death of the Mydrril and nearly all the Trollocs the forest was cleared of the darkness that had plagued it. Malfurion stood alongside his leadership cohort and prepared to find out what the forest would do now, and he was much happier when Coeddil stepped forward and told him that the Elves were now in control of the forest until such point when they turned against it. The decision was made that the Sindar Elves could live among the forest and assist the forest in its defense and in return the forest would make sure that the Elves always had a place in the places of High Forest. With them coming together the Sindar Elves constructed a vast palace defense among the once destroyed ruins of Grandfather Tree and from here the center of the religion of the Sindar Elves was constructed around Grandfather Tree.